Part of the sercret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside. - Mark Twain

RFE/RL Daily Report

No. 238, 14 December 1993

RUSSIA
LATEST UNOFFICIAL PRELIMINARY RESULTS. On the morning of 14 December,
the Central Electoral Commission provided the following preliminary
results based on returns from 77 out of 89 regions, Reuters reported.
Eight electoral associations had passed the 5% threshhold. The
Liberal Democratic Party was leading with 24%, followed by Russia's
Choice (15%); Communist Party (11%); Women of Russia (8.7%);
Agrarian Party (8%); Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (7%); Party
of Russian Unity and Accord (5.7%); and the Democratic Party
of Russia (5.5%) -Keith Bush
ZHIRINOVSKY ELABORATES ON HIS PLATFORM . . . Vladimir Zhirinovsky
told RFE/RL on 13 December that he hoped his party would not
find itself in confrontation with any other bloc in the new parliament.
He said he was ready to take the responsibility for forming the
new Russian government if President Yeltsin asked him to do so.
He added that if his party was not asked to form a new government,
then it would try to play the role of "constructive opposition."
-Vera Tolz
. . . AND CALLS FOR GREATER RUSSIA. Talking to Russian and Western
journalists the same day, Zhirinovsky reiterated that he "would
not allow Russia's borders to be shrunk further," but instead
Russia should be recreated within its "former borders." He denied
any ambition to reassert Russia's prerevolutionary control over
Finland, but he insisted that the former Soviet republics in
Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Baltics must be brought back
into Russia's orbit and that Russia would never relinquish control
over the Kuril Islands. He also said his party opposes the existence
of ethnically-based republics within the Russian Federation and
wants instead to see Russia re-divided into 40 or 50 non-ethnic
region. -Elizabeth Teague
RUSSIA'S CHOICE PROPOSES ANTI-FASCIST COALITION. At a meeting
on 14 December members of Russia's Choice bloc were expected
to discuss the creation of a coalition to counter the influence
of the Liberal Democratic Party and its leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
Interfax and Western news agencies quoted Russia's Choice member
Sergei Kovalev as saying Zhirinovsky's rise to power would mean
"war and the final downfall of Russia." He said that it was therefore
important to form an "anti-fascist parliamentary bloc," which
the communists could also join. On 13-December Reuters quoted
Russia's Choice leader Egor Gaidar as saying that it would be
"an enormous danger not only for Russia but to all humanity if
there is the slightest chance that this man [Zhirinovsky] could
really become the president of Russia." -Vera Tolz
PRO-REFORM BLOCS WILL NOT FORM MAJORITY. A member of Russia's
Choice bloc, Arkadii Murashev, told RFE/RL on 13 December that
the three pro-reform blocs that had overcome the 5 % barrier
in the parliamentary elections would not apparently be able to
form a majority coalition. The pro-reform blocs are Russia's
Choice, Yavlinsky-Boldyrev-Lukin bloc, and the Party for Russian
Unity and Accord. The fourth reformist bloc, the Russian Movement
for Democratic Reform, gathered less than 5 % of the vote. Murashev
said President Yeltsin's idea of getting a parliament supportive
of reforms was not realized. -Vera Tolz
WHERE WILL THE COMMUNISTS STAND? THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF THE RUSSIAN
FEDERATION (CP-RF) REPORTEDLY CAME THIRD, GAINING SOME 11 PERCENT
OF THE VOTE. As yet, however, it is unclear whether it will form
an alliance with other parties in the new parliament. CP-RF leader,
Gennadii Zyuganov, reacting to the apparent victory of the extreme
right Liberal Democratic Party told Interfax on 13 December that
he regretted "fascist demagogy" had so influenced the voters,
but said that the LDP nonetheless included moderate and cautious
politicians with whom the CP-RF could cooperate. -Wendy Slater
GOOD SHOWING BY CONSERVATIVES. Aleksandr Nevzorov, anchor man
of the ultra-right TV show "600-Seconds," which had been closed
down by the authorities in the aftermath of the president's showdown
with the parliament in October, won a seat in St.-Petersburg,
Ostankino TV 's "Novosti" reported on 13 October. Other prominent
conservatives elected to the parliament include two leaders of
the August 1991 coup against Mikhail Gorbachev-the farm lobby
leader Vasilii Starodubtsev and the former speaker of the USSR
parliament Anatolii Lukyanov, plus Sergei Baburin, the leader
of the conservatives in the former parliament and the weightlifter
Yurii Vlasov. All of these were elected as indivual candidates
and not on party tickets. The most prominent winner among the
centrists appears to be Vasilii Lipitsky, aide to Vice President
Aleksandr Rutskoi and a leader of the People's Party of Free
Russia; he was elected in Novosibirsk. -Julia Wishnevsky
YELTSIN LOSES GROUND IN SVERDLOVSK. Only 48% of the electorate
in Sverdlovsk region, once regarded to be Yeltsin's powerbase,
turned out to vote and only 49% of these voted in favor of the
new constitution, Interfax reported on 13 December. The vote
for the constitution has been generally regarded as a vote of
confidence in Yeltsin personally, similar to the referendum the
president had won there in April of this year. The reason for
such a switch in public support appears to have been Yeltsin's
firing of the regional head of administration, Eduard Rossel,
and his dissolution of the regional council following their attempt
to establish the Ural Republic. On the same day, Rossel was elected
to the higher chamber of the new parliament, the Federation Council,
while another seat went to Galina Karelova, the former deputy
chairwoman of the regional council. -Julia Wishnevsky
WESTERN REACTION TO RUSSIAN ELECTIONS. Western officials expressed
varying degrees of concern over the strong showing of Vladimir
Zhirinovsky and the possible changes in Russian foreign policy
that his success might herald. NATO officials commented that
East European states' desire to join the Atlantic alliance were
prompted in many ways by fears of resurgent Russian nationalism.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Joergen Holst observed that the influence
of Zhirinovsky's party would make it more difficult for Russia
to make concessions on disputed territorial waters. Germany's
Klaus Kinkel, already showing sensitivity to Russia's right,
said, "we still want to be extremely cautious, and we should
think of that especially after the result of these elections.
. . . Russia is watching with high sensitivity to see what will
happen at the upcoming NATO summit" scheduled for January. The
United States stressed the positive aspect of the elections,
the adoption of a new constitution. Vice-President Al Gore, on
a visit to Kazakhstan, observed that the far-right showing in
Russia is "in a way . . . a reflection of the integrity of the
election process," Western agencies reported. -Suzanne Crow
SWEDEN WILL NOT REMAIN NEUTRAL. Swedish Defense Minister Anders
Bjoerck warned on 13 December that his country would not remain
neutral if any of the Baltic states were attacked. His comments
came in response to the success of the party of Zhirinovsky,
a politician who views many areas on Russia's periphery, including
the Baltic states, as belonging to the territory of Russia. Bjoerck
added that Sweden has "no intention of fighting a war abroad,
nor does it have the military means to do so." Prime Minister
Carl Bildt, who has made similar statements in the past, said
the election results were "disturbing." Bildt said he believes
that the election results reflect the fact that the "red-brown
forces" had conducted an aggressive and skilful campaign, and
he expressed confidence that there exists in Russia a basic desire
for stable government and an improved economy, AFP and Reuters
reported. -Suzanne Crow
KOZYREV, HURD WRITE ON PEACEKEEPING. Izvestiya carried a joint
article in its 14 December edition by Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Kozyrev and British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd entitled,
"Europe Will Not Enter CIS 'Hot Spots,' Nor Will It Give Russia
a Free Hand." The article emphasized that Russia's concerns over
conflicts near its borders and the safety of ethnic Russians
were legitimate ones. At the same time, it said that while the
West could not afford play a large part in peacekeeping efforts,
the West would also not give Russia a free hand in the region.
This would be tantamount to Western endorsement for Moscow to
play the very same role which it played in the Soviet empire,
the article said. -Suzanne Crow
CONFUSING REPORTS ON CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE. The Central Electoral
Commission published the official preliminary results in the
voting for Russia's new constitution, AFP and Izvestiya reported
on 13 and 14-December. In its statement, the commission said
that of Russia's 105,284,000 registered voters, 55,987,000 or
53.2% participated and 29,337,000 voted in favor. The commission
failed, however, to give the percentage of votes in favor, simply
claiming that "around 60% of voters who took part in the vote
were in favor of the adoption of the Russian Federation Constitution."
The actual percentage of those in favor, on the basis of the
commission's figures, is 52.3%. Over 50% of voters had to participate
to validate the referendum but the total number of eligible voters
given by the commission was lower than the figures it had published
previously, which varied from 107,000,000 to 106,241,000. (The
latter figure excluded voters in Chechnya, which boycotted the
ballot.) Officials explained the discrepancy by blaming incorrect
earlier information from local election commissions. -Wendy Slater
YELTSIN ISSUES STATEMENT ON NEW CONSTITUTION. President Yeltsin
said on 13 December that the passage of a new constitution gives
Russians a "common hope for the revival of a great and powerful
Russia." ITAR-TASS quoted the president as saying the new constitution
"guarantees the conditions for the stable development of reforms
and democracy." He pledged, as president of the Russian Federation,
to "act firmly on the basis of the new constitution." -Vera Tolz
TUVIN CONSTITUTION APPROVED. In a referendum held simultaneously
with the Russian elections and referendum, voters in Tuva have
approved a new republican constitution that conflicts with the
new Russian constitution, ITAR-TASS reported on 13 December.
While only 32.7 percent of those who voted supported the new
Russian constitution, 62.2 percent were in favor of the republican
constitution, the agency said. A commission is to be set up to
reconcile the two documents, but for the time being the Russian
constitution will be regarded as valid only in so far as it does
not run counter to the new Tuvan constitution. -Ann Sheehy
YELTSIN ISSUES DECREE ON INGUSH REFUGEES. As promised during
his recent visit to the North Caucasus, on 13 December Yeltsin
signed a decree ordering that a start be made in December to
return Ingush refugees to the villages of Chermen, Dongaron,
Dachnoe, and Kurtat in the Prigorodnyi raion of North Ossetia,
ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. Interfax says the decree confirms
that Prigorodnyi raion, much of which is claimed by Ingushetia,
is part of North Ossetia. It also deals with the general problem
of refugees in North Ossetia and Ingushetia. There are tens of
thousands of South Ossetian and other refugees in North Ossetia.
-Ann Sheehy
TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA
KAZAKHSTAN RATIFIES NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY. On 13 December,
while US Vice President Albert Gore was visiting Kazakhstan,
the parliament voted 283 to 1 to accede to the nuclear non-proliferation
treaty, the Washington Post reported on 14 December. The move
fulfills President Nazarbaev's earlier promise that Kazakhstan
would accede to the treaty before the end of 1993. Gore and Nazarbaev
also signed an umbrella agreement governing the payment of US
denuclearization aid. Some $70 million will be provided to dismantle
SS-18 silos, while an additional $14 million will be spent on
nuclear weapons safety and emergency response equipment. This
decision would seem to open the way to the removal of the nuclear
weapons in Kazakhstan, although full implementation of the START1
accord is still dependent upon Ukraine's unconditional ratification
of the treaty. -John Lepingwell
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT DISSOLVED. Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Soviet failed
to obtain a two-thirds majority for a vote of no confidence in
the country's Prime Minister, Tursunbek Chyngyshev, but President
Askar Akaev dismissed the country's government anyway, ITAR-TASS
reported on 13 December. Supreme Soviet deputies had accused
Chyngyshev of illegal export of part of the country's gold reserves,
and much of the current session of the legislature has been taken
up with disputes between the deputies and the prime minister.
Chyngyshev described the dismissal of his government as a counterrevolution
and warned that there is danger of a coup against Akaev. RFE/RL
has learned that Akaev has asked Apas Dzhumagulov, Kyrgyzstan's
last Communist premier, to form a government. -Bess Brown
RENEWED FIGHTING IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH. Renewed fighting in the
Beilagan raion of Nagorno-Karabakh on 11-12 December resulted
in heavy casualties, reported Interfax and ITAR-TASS. The Azerbaijani
government and the Karabakh Armenian authorities have accused
each other of beginning the new offensive. Both claim that the
enemy lost up to 200 men plus armored vehicles or tanks in the
fighting. Addressing refugees in Beilagan, Azerbaijani President
Geidar Aliev affirmed that the Azerbaijani government is seeking
to resolve the conflict by political means, but that strong defensive
capabilities are a necessary precondition for doing so, according
to Interfax of 13 December. -Liz Fuller
CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
MAZOWIECKI IN BOSNIA. Former Polish prime minister and current
UN special envoy on human rights Tadeusz Mazowiecki answered
reporters' questions in Zagreb on 13 December after arriving
in the Croatian capital from a weekend visit to Bosnia. Mazowiecki
spent his time in the Tuzla region, situated in northeastern
Bosnia, and described living conditions there as "dramatic."
According to Reuters, Mazowiecki stressed that the hardships
in the area were being caused largely by the blockade of relief
convoys. He laid the blame for this squarely on Bosnian Serb
forces, which, he alleged, had shut down the flow of humanitarian
aid to the area. Mazowiecki stressed that only 14% of the aid
needed in Tuzla was able to get through and observed that Croat
forces, who continue to hamper aid efforts, have recently become
more cooperative. He also stressed that conditions in other Bosnian
regions, such as Maglaj and Srebrenica, are far more critical
than they are in Tuzla. -Stan Markotich
SERBIAN ELECTION UPDATE. On 13 December Vreme reported extensively
on the elections slated in Serbia for 19 December, and speculated
that 16 December would be a critical day in the campaign. On
that date, Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic is scheduled
to appear publicly in a media blitz designed to win votes for
his Socialists. Vreme hinted that Milosevic's performance on
the 16th could mean the difference between a parliamentary majority
for the Socialist Party of Serbia or simply a minority government.
On 10 December NIN reported on voters' attitudes on the current
elections and published a poll which suggested that voters considered
that a politician's age was an important variable. According
to the poll, 51.0% of the respondents thought that a younger
leader was preferable, while only 13.5% felt the same way about
an older or middle-aged person. About 32.5% of those surveyed
felt that age was not an important criterion for determining
leadership quality. -Stan Markotich
NOMINEE FOR HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER ELECTED. The national steering
committee and parliamentary faction of the ruling Hungarian Democratic
Forum (HDF) elected Interior Minister Peter Boross (65) as its
nominee to become Hungary's next prime minister, Hungarian and
foreign media report. Boross ran against two other candidates,
Defense Minister Lajos Fur, and Finance Minister Ivan Szabo,
and received the 50% plus one vote required for the nomination
only in the second round of voting. Boross was Antall's substitute
during the Prime Minister's illness and currently heads the caretaker
government. Boross told Radio Budapest that he would not run
for the position of chairman of the HDF because he felt that
there were appropriate candidates for the post among the party's
founding members. Boross has a reputation for toughness and the
opposition parties in parliament might vote against him. -Judith
Pataki
CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER IN ISRAEL. Josef Zieleniec, on three-day
visit to Israel, held talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon
Peres on 12 December and with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and
President Ezer Weizman on 13 December. CTK reports that Zieleniec
and Peres signed a Czech-Israeli agreement on preventing double
taxation. Peres told journalists after the meeting that "Israel
sees the Czech Republic as a friendly state, open to cooperating
with Israel." During the Zieleniec-Rabin meeting, the Israeli
prime minister urged the Czech Republic not to export nuclear
technology to Iran, arguing that if Iran possessed nuclear or
other non-conventional weapons it would "threaten to destabilize"
the whole region. Zieleniec said contracts planned with Iran
would not be implemented because of Iran's shortage of foreign
exchange and that his country would "not undertake any move harming
the Czech Republic's friendly policy toward Israel." -Jiri Pehe
SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER IN GERMANY. On 13-December Jozef Moravcik
visited Germany, where he met with his German counterpart Klaus
Kinkel and German Defense Minister Volker Ruehe. Moravcik and
Kinkel focused their discussions on the relations between the
European Union and the Visegrad countries but also spoke about
bilateral relations and the German minority in Slovakia. Moravcik
asked Kinkel for his support in Slovakia's integration into European
security and economic organizations. Discussions between Moravcik
and Ruehe are expected to lead to the signing of a military cooperation
agreement between the two nations in the near future, TASR reports.
-Sharon Fisher
MECIAR SAYS ZLATA IDKA TEXT HAS MISTAKES. On 13 December Slovak
National Party Chairman Ludovit Cernak said that according to
Premier Vladimir Meciar, the authenticity of Meciar's speech
at Zlata Idka is being carefully examined. Meciar said that in
relation to the SNP, which is his party's coalition partner,
"there are nine deliberate mistakes which distort the meaning
of the text." In response to Meciar's statement, Dusan Klinger,
editor-in-chief of Slovensky vychod, which was the first daily
to publish the text, said "Meciar said what we published;" there
are no mistakes, intentional or unintentional. Klinger further
stated, "I can confirm the authenticity of the transcript of
Vladimir Meciar's speech at Zlata Idka and can provide it to
Slovak Radio if they ask for it." Although the entire speech
was not published because of lack of space, Klinger said the
published text was "authentic." Meciar refused to comment on
the matter, saying, "Do not bother me with that. Do not insult
me and disgrace me," TASR reports. The Zlata Idka controversy
came about after several dailies published a private speech given
by Meciar at a party meeting on 27 to 28 November which has been
criticized by various Slovak parties and organizations. -Sharon
Fisher
GM SIGNS POLISH AUTO DEAL. The Polish government and the FSO
auto plant in Warsaw signed a joint venture agreement with General
Motors Europe on 13-December. GM plans to assemble 10,000 Opel
Astra automobiles annually, from imported parts. By the terms
of the agreement, GM will invest an initial sum of DM 35 million
and employ 250 workers, with investment rising to DM 75 million
and employment to 1,000 a year after production begins. If demand
is sufficient, production could rise to 33,000 autos annually.
Negotiations on the agreement lasted three years; the delay was
reportedly the result of not only of Poland's political instability
but also of GM's demands for tax concessions. In the end, GM
received tax breaks equal to the total of the firm's initial
investment in the FSO plant. The first Astras are to be ready
within nine months, PAP reports. GM also pledged to assist FSO
in designing a successor to the outmoded Polonez. -Louisa Vinton
THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ON STRIKE IN ROMANIA. Thousands of students
went on strike in Romania on 13 December, protesting against
poor living conditions and a decision of the government to enforce
new examinations. An official of the ministry of education said
the strike was not general and that students will not receive
grants while they boycott classes. -Michael Shafir
SECOND BULGARIAN STRIKE WAVE. Following the ore miners' strike
launched by the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in
Bulgaria the previous week, Podkrepa-the second major Bulgarian
union-on 13 December called out thousands of coal miners and
medical workers, agencies report. While the CITUB, which two
days earlier reached a tentative agreement on quick payment of
overdue wages, has asked its members to resume their work, Podkrepa
is raising new demands. The anticommunist union says its miners
seek a development program for their industry, laws allowing
foreign investment and tax-free import of input materials, and
higher pensions. On behalf of medical workers, Podkrepa is demanding
increased government spending on health care plus the immediate
resignation of health minister Tancho Gugalov, who is held primary
responsible for what is described as a gradually worsening situation.
The current government recently admitted it has experienced considerable
difficulties in collecting budget revenues and that transfers
to the public sector as a consequence have been delayed. -Kjell
Engelbrekt
BALTIC REACTION TO RUSSIAN ELECTION. Estonian Prime Minister
Mart Laar noted that the Russian election results should prompt
the European Union to integrate the Baltic States more quickly
and NATO to provide security guarantees, BNS reported on 13 December.
Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis said that "Zhirinovsly's victory
is linked to the weakness of President Boris Yeltsin's policies
in the last six months." He repeated his desire to meet Yeltsin
and said that he would also like to meet Zhirinovsky. Lithuanian
President Algirdas Brazauskas sent a telegram to Yeltsin congratulating
him on the approval of the new Constitution. He said that the
democratic forces in Russia should create a strong parliamentary
coalition and hoped that Lithuania's relations with Russia would
continue to develop on the basis of friendship and cooperation.
-Saulius Girnius
RUSSIANS' VOTE IN BALTIC STATES. Russian citizens in the Baltic
States voted against the new Constitution and supported the Communist
Party and Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Baltfax
reported on 13-December. Of the 9,886 Russians (about 25% of
total) voting in Estonia (5,908 in Tallinn and 3,978 in Narva),
65.5% opposed the new Constitution with 47.7% supporting the
LDP and 19.2% the Communists. Of the 23,000 registered Russian
citizens in Latvia 3,762 voted in Riga and about 3,000 in 25
closed constituencies for the military. About 80% opposed the
Constitution with the Communist Party receiving 49% and the LDP
32% of the votes. Of the 12,000 Russians in Lithuania about 3,500
voted (2,000 in Vilnius, 800 in Siauliai, and 729 in Klaipeda).
The Russian Embassy in Vilnius said it would announce the results
only after the all-Russia votes are revealed. In Klaipeda 543
opposed the Constitution with 296 voting for the Communists and
261 for the LDP. -Saulius Girnius
UKRAINIAN POLITICIANS ALARMED BY RUSSIAN ELECTION RESULTS. The
initial reaction by political leaders in Ukraine to the gains
made by Zhirinovky's chauvinist Liberal-Democratic Party and
the Communists in Russia's elections has been one of alarm and
increased concern about threats to Ukrainian national security,
Ukrainian and Western media report. Typically, the leader of
the Rukh opposition party, Vyacheslav Chornovil, told RFE/RL
on 13 December that Russian imperialism was still strong and
that demands from Western powers that Ukraine "give up all nuclear
arms immediately" are now even more unrealistic. Speaking on
Radio Ukraine, a leader of the Democratic Party of Ukraine, Voleslav
Heichenko, compared Zhironovsky with Hitler, warning that his
views about Russia and the need to protect Russians living abroad
were reminiscent of Hitler's attitude towards the Sudeten Germans;
he also called on the West not to make the mistake of "appeasing"
Zhirinovsky and those who think like him. Other democratic leaders,
such as Volodymyr Yavorivsky, have also called on Ukraine's democratic
forces to heed the lesson of their Russian counterparts and to
form a united front for the forthcoming parliamentary elections
scheduled for next March. -Bohdan Nahaylo
SHUSHKEVICH CONCERNED ABOUT ZHIRINOVSKY'S GAINS. The Chairman
of the Belarusian Supreme Soviet, Stanislau Shushkevich, is reportedly
concerned over Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's strong
performance in the Russian election, Interfax reported on 13
December. A Shushkevich advisor, Valyeri Tsepkalo, said that
if Russia's major political parties failed to form a coalition
Zhirinovsky stood a very good chance of "winning" the elections
and his party would try to implement his plans for "the territorial
unification of the Russian empire." On 12-December Reuters reported
that in contrast to Shushkevich's position, Semyon Sharyetsky,
an economic advisor to the conservative Prime Minister Vyacheslau
Kebich, feels if reformers win and Russia continues to move towards
a market economy at its current pace, this would provoke instability.
The liberal minority, (which is not wholly supportive of Shushkevich),
has said that an inconclusive result may make Russia concentrate
on its own problems more and dominate affairs in Belarus less.
-Ustina Markus
SNEGUR ON RUSSIAN ELECTION RESULTS. Moldovan president Mircea
Snegur said on 13 December that a Russian parliament with a Liberal
Democratic majority was bound to affect Russia's attitude to
other CIS states, Interfax reported. Snegur said that in his
election campaign the party's leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, had
treated Moldova as a province of a greater Russia, whose governor-general
was the present commander of the Russian 14th army. -Ann Sheehy
DNIESTER REPUBLIC REFUSES TO HAND OVER TIRASPOL SIX. The self-styled
Dniester republic has refused to hand over to Moldova the six
members of the pro-Romanian Moldovan Popular Front sentenced
for terrorists activities on 9 December, Reuter reported on 13
December citing ITAR-TASS. The chairman of the Dniester parliament
Grigorii Marakutsa argued that people convicted on similar charges
in Gagauzia who had been handed over the Moldovan authorities
had never served their sentences. Earlier it had been stated
that the question of their transfer could only be considered
after they had appealed for mercy to the Dniester parliament,
which Ilie Ilascu, sentenced to death, had said he would not
do. Moldovan President Mircea Snegur has appealed to both the
UN and CSCE to intervene in the case. -Ann Sheehy
UKRAINIAN AND MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS SIGN ACCORDS. During an official
visit to Kiev by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur, he and his
Ukrainian host, President Leonid Kravchuk, signed several accords
expanding bilateral cooperation, especially in the economic and
legal spheres, Ukrainian agencies reported on 13 December. Kravchuk
said after the signing that he had reiterated Ukraine's position
upholding the territorial integrity of the Moldovan state and
seeking a peaceful settlement of the conflict affecting "our
closest neighbor." "Ukraine," he declared, "will never make territorial
demands of Moldova, and I hope that it will not do so with respect
to Ukraine." -Bohdan Nahaylo
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Keith Bush and Edith Oltay
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